National Development League Agm

[greyhoundp]

Have the agm and invite Lakeside and BV, then give them a date (say Dec 31st) to declare thier intentions to run. I am sure the same facility was offered to IOW between 2013 and 2014 when air fences became mandatory.

 

Whilst every opportunity has to be given to bring both sides to the tapes in 2017, you can't make the other clubs sit in limbo waiting for them.

 

Whilst i understand where you are coming from especially if Clubs want to sell season tickets prior to christmas, the problem could be would the Points building limit be the same for Example 10 Teams, as if the League has 12 Teams, i mean that is a 14 rider difference, and last season Teams were struggling to find available riders..

[Islander15]

 

Whilst i understand where you are coming from especially if Clubs want to sell season tickets prior to christmas, the problem could be would the Points building limit be the same for Example 10 Teams, as if the League has 12 Teams, i mean that is a 14 rider difference, and last season Teams were struggling to find available riders..

I think the main problem is when riders get injured that there's such a scarce number of Ryder's that don't get team places at the start of the season, that if a heat leader gets injured then it's very difficult to replace him. It's not like the upper leagues when they can recruit a random foreigner or gamble on someone who's doing well in the lower league.

[TurnTwo]

I think a 38 points limit would be good

[teaboy279]

Last time it went into the 30's the league suffered imo and also there were many riders without a club that year that have faded away from the sport.

A 40-42 (40 being my choice for 2017) window allows higher average riders to stay in the league, whilst also pushing the top boys up and making room at the bottom for the next generation.

[Gunner85]

The key is the NL is meant to be a development league and therefore the rules should be encouraging teams to have more young riders and not fill up with experience in order to win the title.

 

you need some experienced riders to pass on knowledge to the young ones.

 

A low team average encourages development of the younger riders.

[gazzac]

Leave it at 40, seems to be a fair figure to build to. Ideally should have been set for 2 years at least last year then you'd have none of the waiting for the agm to start serious team building.

[uk_martin]

The key is the NL is meant to be a development league and therefore the rules should be encouraging teams to have more young riders and not fill up with experience in order to win the title.

 

Quite right. How about some kind of weighting on the averages, so that a rider gets a 10% "discount" on his average for every year that they are under 20 and a 5% premium for every year that they are over 21?

Thus a 16 year old rider with a 6.00 average is discounted by 40% (= average of 3.6 for team building purposes) whereas a 28 year old rider with a 6.00 average would be loaded by 35% (= 8.10 for team building purposes) And if the"oldies" don't like it, then they can look for a bargain basement place in the Championship with the other big boys. The NL needs to move away from being a retirement home for the under achievers, and focus on being a nurturing ground for the young and aspirational.

[arnieg]

Wouldn't that make Tony Atkin's average 7.16 x 2.45 = 17.54

[Islander15]

 

Quite right. How about some kind of weighting on the averages, so that a rider gets a 10% "discount" on his average for every year that they are under 20 and a 5% premium for every year that they are over 21?

Thus a 16 year old rider with a 6.00 average is discounted by 40% (= average of 3.6 for team building purposes) whereas a 28 year old rider with a 6.00 average would be loaded by 35% (= 8.10 for team building purposes) And if the"oldies" don't like it, then they can look for a bargain basement place in the Championship with the other big boys. The NL needs to move away from being a retirement home for the under achievers, and focus on being a nurturing ground for the young and aspirational.

You come out with some stuff... So JPB should be on a 4 point average 'because he's young' and Ayres should've been saddled with a 7 point average in his second season (when he actually started on 4.24) because he's not so young. Then the likes of Atkin, Bowen and Wilson should all be on 12 point averages leaving teams with no number 1 because they can't fit them in under the points limit!

[greyhoundp]

 

Quite right. How about some kind of weighting on the averages, so that a rider gets a 10% "discount" on his average for every year that they are under 20 and a 5% premium for every year that they are over 21?

Thus a 16 year old rider with a 6.00 average is discounted by 40% (= average of 3.6 for team building purposes) whereas a 28 year old rider with a 6.00 average would be loaded by 35% (= 8.10 for team building purposes) And if the"oldies" don't like it, then they can look for a bargain basement place in the Championship with the other big boys. The NL needs to move away from being a retirement home for the under achievers, and focus on being a nurturing ground for the young and aspirational.

 

Nice try , That would mean Perry may get a 5% premium, but the rest would all get up to 40% discount thereby you would probably keep the same Team.

[*JJ]

And, of course, there are plenty of promising beginners who are over 21.

[Sings4Speedway]

Whilst it is obvious to all that youth is the future there is a dangerous current trend for pushing riders into league teams before they have achieved a sensible level because of their young age and potential rather than proven ability.

There is an appallingly low level of support for developing riders before they step into league racing and especially by NL clubs. Instead of harping on about the lack of capable 3 pointers every season all NL clubs should do something about it.

[uk_martin]

You come out with some stuff...

 

So it's an idea...maybe it sparks a better idea in someone else's head...but at least it's more than just the usual "something should be done" statement. If you don't like the idea then come up with a better one. Eventually, by brainstorming a few ideas instead of just moaning about them something workable could come out of it.

 

And, of course, there are plenty of promising beginners who are over 21.

 

Quite right..where's Arthur Browning's phone number?

[Islander15]

 

So it's an idea...maybe it sparks a better idea in someone else's head...but at least it's more than just the usual "something should be done" statement. If you don't like the idea then come up with a better one. Eventually, by brainstorming a few ideas instead of just moaning about them something workable could come out of it.

 

 

Haha so you didn't bother to quote my rationale as to why your idea doesn't work and ignore the fact that I've suggested many things in this section over the last couple of years. Even before the 'big teams' turned up.

[*JJ]

Quite right..where's Arthur Browning's phone number?

Very witty ... not. I was thinking of a couple of others who live close to Perry Barr. The problem is that few clubs are prepared to do anything to help develop new riders.

[gazzac]

I think you need a combination of experience and bringing on the youngsters.Although Eastbourne were hammered on here for employing Adam Ellis last year, we also brought in and brought on the likes of Wood, Brennen, Powell, Harris, and even help develop the likes of Knight and Perks into heat leaders . That surely has to be the balance of bringing on the youngsters or older newbies and getting people through the gate to fund it.

Edited November 25, 2016 by gazzac

[uk_martin]

Adam Ellis isn't that old though. It's the Armstrongs and Atkins that I struggle with. The NL should be for the youngsters on the upward path of the learning curve so that there can be a wealth of British talent in the higher leagues and in Team GB. Someone should run a seniors circus separately for the golden oldies.

[Guest]

And, of course, there are plenty of promising beginners who are over 21.

 

​In the late 1940s, Tom Oakley and Harold MacNaughton started their speedway careers when both were around 38 years old. They went on to ride at National League Division One level - both as it happens for New Cross, and were also capped for England in Division Two test matches. Nowadays you seemingly mustn't be older than a late teen to be considered as a rider with a future in the sport.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Guest

[Bagpuss]

Adam Ellis isn't that old though. It's the Armstrongs and Atkins that I struggle with. The NL should be for the youngsters on the upward path of the learning curve so that there can be a wealth of British talent in the higher leagues and in Team GB. Someone should run a seniors circus separately for the golden oldies.

There is probably a case for having one older head per team for the others to learn from but those other six need to be under a certain age. Whether people like it or not the NL is mainly a training league to produce and develop talent for the two leagues above, and IMO it's at its most exciting when you have talented teenagers battling it out, and progressing from reserves to heatleaders (not newsreaders as my auto correct would have you believe).

[TMW]

There is probably a case for having one older head per team for the others to learn from but those other six need to be under a certain age. Whether people like it or not the NL is mainly a training league to produce and develop talent for the two leagues above, and IMO it's at its most exciting when you have talented teenagers battling it out, and progressing from reserves to heatleaders (not newsreaders as my auto correct would have you believe).

Under 25 ?

12 teams x 6 riders = 72

 

72 riders over 15 and under 25. Go on then name all 72

Edited November 26, 2016 by TMW